The Snail Factory

Der Hubschrauberunterricht

(Continued From Blurb 115)

Sink, according to Dr. Breign, was the factory's unspoken hero. Elliot and the few others privy to his existence were less certain. But being C.E.O., Breign didn't feel the need to tell them all his plans for his porcelain commando.

And in fact, not all of his acts are known. It's suspected that he was the one responsible for the disappearance of Toxic Waste vault 7, an event that coincided with the Mapua toxic waste spill. It's not beyond rumor that his ice axe went missing two days before Trotsky's death. But there is no question regarding the offense that finally committed him to the box in the pit.

April 9th 1940. Germany began its campaigns against Norway and Denmark. The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup. A club fire in Mississippi killed 198. And Elliot reminded the office that all pencils used to countersign the testing procedure spec reports be kept sharp so as not to confuse Nauselor, the clerk with one tiny eye. A harmless demand but Breign was always averse to the hassle of rolling over to the sharpener and hated the way its crank wore out his prehensile neckties. So he had his right hand man do it.

He gave Sink 7 pencils to be sharpened. One worn down to the nub. Sink threw it away as the sharpener would be hitting the eraser metal and substituted a brand new pencil, which he sharpened with the others and gave back to his boss.

"Where's Stubbles?" asked the C.E.O. "Who is Stubbles?" asked the sink. "Stubbles is my favorite pencil, he's the tiny short one." Breign demanded. The argument that followed was heard around the factory, all were amazed that a thing with no jaw and a plumbing component with no discernible vocal organs could shout so loud.

Elliot, knowing the danger of Mr. Sink, seized the opportunity to have him locked away. Breign, who would mourn for several weeks the loss of Stubbles, finally agreed. And Mr. Sink was locked away in the deepest pit, where he stayed until the stories depicted in the comic proper.